The First 125 Years Are Hardest / Special celebration for Mercy care center

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, June 13, 1998

1998-06-13 04:00:00 PDT OAKLAND -- For 125 years, the Mercy Retirement & Care Center has provided a loving hand and kind word to the elderly people in its care.

Residents of the assisted-living facility in Oakland participate in dozens of activities, from singing in choirs to taking field trips to Oakland A's games to playing with -- at least attempting to play with -- a mean-spirited little dog named Ebony.

I tried to pet him, but he wasn't going for it.

Thank goodness for Sister Patty Creedon, Mercy's chief administrator. Like any good nun, she yanked him by the scruff of the neck up onto his hind legs -- putting the fear of God into that dog.

The center at 3431 Foothill Blvd. opens its doors to the public this Sunday, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., to celebrate its longevity and its success.

What started in 1872 by the Sisters of Mercy, a Catholic order, as an annex for elderly people at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco is now a five-story residence building with a skilled-nursing facility attached.

The rooms are well-kept and occupied by people who need help taking care of the necessities of daily life.

The sisters moved to Oakland to continue their work after the 1906 earthquake destroyed the hospital. The current facility was built in 1969.

Their mission is the same these days, and the assisted-living facility and the nursing facility is home to more than 160 people.

Choir member John Gilmore, 81, has lived at the facility for 34 years and is quick to give the place a double thumbs up.

"The good Lord saw fit for me to leave my beautiful San Francisco home, and I came here, and I'm very happy," he said.

About his only complaint is that the field trips don't include trips to Candlestick -- where the wind whips, he said grabbing his collar -- but is home to his beloved Giants.

When I asked what he did for a living before he retired, he tugged at my pants, and said, "I made these."

He was a tailor, I found out later.

Then we talked about Ireland. "What about those colleens (women)?" he asked.

Joe is doin' just fine, and we had a lot in common: We both wear pants and we both like colleens.

Make some time to go there and make a friend.

FIGHT THE POWER: The organizers of an impromptu free music celebration in Richmond -- called Geekfest -- have run smack into the face of reality.

Insurance, dude. Bummer.

City officials now require the organizers to pay for liability insurance whenever they hold the concerts at Point Molate.

A $200 insurance bill raises event costs to around $500, said John Mink, one of the organizers.

When I suggested asking the bands to cut into their petty cash and donate $5 to $10 each, he flat- out dismissed the idea.

"There's a mystic allure to the words 'free and all ages,' " said Mink. "There's a certain feeling that comes off a show like that."

That plus Geekfest members buy beer that costs 98 cents for 40 ounces.

Empty pockets is another feeling Geekfest organizers get when they even discuss trying to discuss financing the event.

What's more, some of the bands are "touring" from other parts of the country and rely on goodwill, donated couch space and free food to make it, said Mink, 23, who plays in a band called Astrolloyd.

Any request for money would upset the delicate "ethos" of the alcohol-, drug- and popular-name-soda-free event, Mink said.

So this Sunday's concert has been moved to Berkeley at the Gilman Music Club, more commonly known by its address, 924 Gilman.

"We want people to come to Richmond, but you've got to pay your way," said Brad Baxter, manager of Richmond's recreation and cultural services.

"They are just fighting the system," he said.

Mink said Geekfest organizers are exploring nonprofit status, and they have no problem with unsolicited donations.

"I think that's really cool," Mink said.

"I guess I'm really stubborn, and I love what I do and the way it's done. It's foolish, impractical and probably not very sensible, and we want to stay that way."

I don't foresee a problem.

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